The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Rosemallow Hibiscus spp. hybrids hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99.
No other plant patent application has been submitted for Hibiscus xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 nor for any sibling of xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99.
The present invention was developed entirely on property owned by the applicant using parent plants owned by him and without Federal sponsorship.
1. Field of the Invention
The new cultivar is of value for its floral display, produced from mid- to late-July until frost depending upon cultural, environmetal and seasonal conditions, and for the landscape value of the entire plant.
2. Description of Relevant Prior Art
xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 originated as a seedling selection from the progeny of a cross pollination between (1) an unnamed seedling selection from a breeding line derived by crossing Hibiscus xe2x80x98Super Clownxe2x80x99 with H. xe2x80x98Annie J. Hemmingxe2x80x99, and (2) an unnamed seedling selection from a breeding line derived by crossing the seedling selection described in (1) with H. xe2x80x98Red Midgetxe2x80x99. These Hibiscus cultivars, namely H. xe2x80x98Super Clownxe2x80x99, H. xe2x80x98Annie J. Hemmingxe2x80x99 and H. xe2x80x98Red Midgetxe2x80x99, exhibit characteristics derived from the native American species of Rosemallow Hibiscus, H. coccineus (Medicus) Wal., H. militaris Cav. and H. moscheutos L. (See: Winters, Harold F. Our Hardy Hibiscus Species as Ornamentals. Economic Botany, Vol. 24, No. 2, April-June 1970, pp. 155-164). It is not known just how these native species were hybridized to produce the cultivars used in the present breeding experiments. This prior breeding work was done by others, and the cultivars were available in the nursery trade.
The flower color in Hibiscus xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 is intermediate between the flower colors of H. xe2x80x98Annie J. Hemmingxe2x80x99 and H. xe2x80x98Red Midgetxe2x80x99. In size, the flowers of H. xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 are larger than in any of its parent cultivars. In pose, the flowers of H. xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 somewhat resemble those of the species H. militaris in that the flowers expand their petals widely. The hastate three- to five-lobed leaves of H. xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 also resemble those of H. militaris in shape. The stiff, upright main stems of H. xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 apparently are derived from H. coccineus. 
The breeding program which produced Hibiscus xe2x80x98Vulcanxe2x80x99 extended over a period of some 25 years. The pollen parent was an unnamed purplish-red flowered seedling with red eye-zone that had been selected from the progeny of a cross between Hibiscus xe2x80x98Super Clownxe2x80x99 and the semi-dwarf cultivar H. xe2x80x98Annie J. Hemmingxe2x80x99. The seed parent was a seedling selection from a progeny derived from crossing the above pollen parent with the semi-dwarf, dark-red flowered cultivar H. xe2x80x98Red Midgetxe2x80x99. Each generation of seedlings was rigidly screened for the above named characteristics. Only those which most nearly met all standards were selected as parents of succeeding generations. The new plant produced its first flowers in 1995. It was selected for testing and propagation because of the size and color of its flowers, flower durability, production of only a few seed pods, the strong upright stems, and the landscape value of the plant.
Asexual progagation of this new plant by division and cuttings was carried out on property owned by the applicant at Ridgely, Md. To produce cuttings the plants are headed back before they attain full growth. This causes side branches to develop which are removed for cuttings while the tissues are still soft. Under mist propagation the cuttings produce roots in about one month after which they are removed and potted in soil. Propagation by division is done in early spring before the new stem shoots emerge. The plants are lifted from the ground, split into one or two old-stem divisions (from which the new shoots emerge) and replanted in the field.
The asexually propagated progeny, by both methods, exhibit flower and plant characteristics true to those of the parent plant.